Hsee2006

Now seedlings to the stars has a top 100 prospects list. http://seedlingstostars.c...nkings/2012-s2s-top-100/ Willy Peralta at #50, Thornburg #78 and Taylor Green at #96. Has Jungmann and Bradley listed under the snubs list. Odorizzi at #32 and Jesus Montero at #42!?.

Since I am bored at work, thought I would post this top 100 list from Scout.com. http://mlb.scout.com/a.z?...rc=4&pid=88&pg=1 Brewers have three in the top 100: Bradley (34), Jungmann (31) and Peralta (22). Top 3 overall are Matt Moore, Mike Trout and Bryce Harper. The list overall seams to lean towards the younger guys. Overall Toronto, Oakland and San Diego have the most prospects in the top 100 with 7 each. Is Oakland now the top system?

As much as I hate signing old nearly washed up guys to play off the bench, I think we will need to sign at least one to provide some coverage if Braun is suspended and if Gamel can't hit major league pitching.

With Ramirez and Gonzalez in the fold, next moves I would like to see is a trade of Marcum for a young pitcher with upside (Betances/Banuelos etc). Extend Grienke. Sign a back-up LF/RF/1b type (Hinske/Drew/Jackson/DeRosa/Scott/Hawpe). The good news is that if Braun is suspended we will have about 1.6 million extra to spend.....nope still not good news.

bkroppy2, I love Marcum but he is our best asset for bringing back good talent with years of cheap service time available. If we could get Betances of Banuelos, which the Yankees may not be willing to do, we have cheap starting pitchers to fill out the back end of the rotation so that money can go to Grienke and Gallardo. If we keep Marcum and Grienke we risk losing 3/5th of our rotation with only draft picks as compensation. reillymcshane, didn't realize that about Loe....I would go up to 1.5million for Loe and if it is more than we will have to look elsewhere.

Here are my thoughts on how to build for 2012 and beyond. Option 1: This Option is fairly safe and allows financial and roster flexibility going forward while at the same time providing some protection in case Green and/or Gamel don't work out. I figure Gamel could take over the Kotsay role and since McGehee is likely un-tradeable, he would be kept as insurance in case Green and Gamel both fail. This option also allows for a possibility for extending Grienke while providing protection if the cost is too high. Total Estimated Cost: 88.545 million (obviously this is going to vary depending upon actual contracts and arbitration awards). Sign: Hairston (1yr 2M) Barmes (2 yrs 9M - 4.5per), A. Ramirez (2 yrs 22M - 11per), Saito (1 yr 1.75M) and Hawkins (1 yr 4M)Trade: Marcum and Gindl to the Yankees for Betances or BanuelosExtend: GrienkeC- Lucroy - $414K 1b - Ramirez - 11M 2b - Weeks - 10M SS - Barmes - 4.5M 3b - Green -414K LF - Braun - 6M CF - Morgan - 1.9M RF - Hart - 9M B/U - Hairston - 2M B/C- Maldonado - 414K B/3b-1b- McGehee - 3.1M B/OF - Gomez -1.8M B/OF-1b - Gamel - 414K SP1 - Gallardo - 5.5M SP2 - Greinke - 13.5M SP3 - Wolf - 9.5M SP4 - Betances or Banuelos - 414K SP5 - Narveson - 441K Longman - Estrada - 414K Cl - Axford - 442K RP - Saito - 1.75M RP - Hawkins - 4M RP - Loe - 800K RP - Kintzler/Braddock/Rogers/Stetter/Fiers/De La Cruz/ Manzanillo/Meadows - 414K RP - Kintzler/Braddock/Rogers/Stetter/Fiers/De La Cruz/ Manzanillo/Meadows - 414K Option 2: This is the option I think would get me more excited but may hurt our long-term financial flexibility too much to be worth it, doesn't provide much protection if Gamel and Green turn out to be duds and also leaves the bullpen fairly questionable. Total Estimated Cost: 88.259 million (obviously this is going to vary depending upon actual contracts and arbitration awards). Sign: Hairston (1yr 2M), Jose Reyes (5 yrs 90M - 18per), Saito (1 yr 1.75M), Kotsay (1 yr 800K) and Hawkins (1 yr 4M)Trade: Marcum and Gindl to the Yankees for Betances or BanuelosExtend: Grienke C- Lucroy - 414K 1b - Gamel- 414K 2b - Weeks - 10M SS - Reyes - 18M 3b - Green -414K LF - Braun - 6M CF - Morgan - 1.9M RF - Hart - 9M B/U - Hairston - 2M B/C- Maldonado - 414K B/3b-1b- McGehee - 3.1M B/OF - Gomez -1.8M B/OF-1b - Kotsay- 800K SP1 - Gallardo - 5.5M SP2 - Greinke - 13.5M SP3 - Wolf - 9.5M SP4 - Betances or Banuelos - 414K SP5 - Narveson - 441K Longman - Estrada - 414K Cl - Axford - 442K RP - Saito - 1.75M RP - Loe - 800K RP - Kintzler/Braddock/Rogers/Stetter/Fiers/De La Cruz/ Manzanillo/Meadows - 414K RP - Kintzler/Braddock/Rogers/Stetter/Fiers/De La Cruz/ Manzanillo/Meadows - 414K RP - Kintzler/Braddock/Rogers/Stetter/Fiers/De La Cruz/ Manzanillo/Meadows - 414K

I agree with a lot of people are saying. I think the focus after Prince walks is to resign Grienke and trade Marcum for younger pitching and/or middle infield help. The Yankees, as always, seem to be likely destination and could offer back a package of Nova and/or Banuelos. We then either trade McGehee or release him and take the money saved from Fielder leaving, Betancourt leaving, McGehee leaving to extend Grienke and try to sign Reyes. As much as I would like to put all our free money into our current big three pitchers the reality is that it will cost almost half of our team salary to lock up those three. Also, with Prince leaving our offense is going to have some serious growing pains next year unless Green and Gamel hit beyond their years right away.

Would the Brewers be better if we traded Fielder to the Mets for Reyes straight up? This would allow Reyes to play short and lead off, Rickie to bat second followed by Braun, Hart, Gamel. Don't know if it would generate more runs but would vastly improve the infield defense.

Extending Weeks and Greinke I think should be the priorities. If we have room for Marcum then great but it may be tieing up too much in salaries for too long for an injury prone pitcher. If we can do Weeks for 4-5 years for an average salary of 9 million and then do Greinke for 18 million over 5 years (reportedly what the Nats offered), along with the existing deals for Bruan, Gallardo and Hart we would have a real core locked up for much of the next half decade. This would allow us to go for it this year, take two picks for Fielder in addition to the 2 this year to rebuild our Minor League system. 2012 we would then have Greinke, Gallardo, Marcum, Narveson, Rodgers/Peralta/Rivas and hope for Logan Schafer or Kentrail Davis to push for playing time in Center, plug Gamel in at first, Hart, Bruan, McGehee, Lucroy, Weeks in their respective positions and take the money freed up by Wolf and Betancourt coming off the books to sign a relatively cheap shortstop (J.J. Hardy?) and pay arbitration awards. Then hopefully by 2013 we will have a better idea if Gamel is a long-term solution, have rebuilt our minor leagues through 4 early draft picks, allowed the young pitchers to be close, and see if there is a young cheaper position prospect knocking on the door to allow us to trade someone more expensive or fill holes or if necessary move Braun to first and let a rookie play left. Man it is good to be a Brewers fan today and if we could extend Weeks and Greinke I may just have to leave NY and move back to Wisconsin.

I agree with this very much. This would never happen. There's no way in h. e. double hockey sticks that the Giants would trade Bumgarner for Fielder. 6 years of controlable/cheap starting pitching, for one year of close to market value of a 1B? Along with depleting the system for 2 years of a SP at good value. I think if the Brewers deal for Greinke, they're basically trying to go for it in 2011 and/or 2012. In that case, Prince won't be dealt. I understand the SP needs to be upgraded, but Greinke really isn't a long term solution. I think it'd be a great pickup, but I'm a little wary of giving up too many prospects for 2 years of a SP, although it could be compensated with receiving two draft picks when he leaves. Yeah Fielder for Bumgarner may be dreaming. In hindsight sitting on Fielder last offseason and at the deadline may have cost us the chance at someone like Bumgarner and maybe even a Daniel Hudson type. Sadly, I expect a trade for Fielder now would probably either net us a major league player with limited upside or a couple of minor leaguers with decent upside. I suspect Fielder will not get us a deal as big as the Texas-Braves Texeira deal but if I had the choice I would take the minor leaguers with the higher ceiling.

I like the idea of getting Greinke but it may cost a lot. Looking at the Indians trade of Cliff Lee to the Phillies they were able to get the Phillies 2nd Carrasco), 3rd (Donald), 4th (Marson) and 10th (Knapp) rated players according to their Baseball America rankings. That means a trade for Greinke may cost Gamel or Lawrie, Odorizzi or Rogers, Kentrail Davis and maybe Jeffress or Braddock. I think we should sign Weeks and then trade Lawrie, Odorizzi, Davis and Jeffress or Braddock for Greinke. Then trade Fielder to SF for Bumgarner and go with a rotation of Greinke, Gallardo, Bumgarner, Wolf and Narveson with Narveson possibly being replaced by Rogers in 2011 or 12. Then play Gamel at first or sign an aged veteran free agent to play first like Thome to a short term deal.

Mr. Morgan, what you've just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.

I guess i don't see how Parra and Gamel or Escobar is going to cripple the franchise. We are going to get prospects galore as the first wave (Prince, Hardy, Hart and Weeks) all reach the end of arbitration as there is no way we are going to hold on to all of them until the end of their arbitration eligibility. Prince alone will probably replensih any lost prospects that we deal for Halladay. However, I think that standing pat we go into next season with essentially the same team we had this year except minus hardy for some pitching. Gamel and Escobar are both very good and exciting players but they are no where near the level of untouchability that Braun, Gallardo and Fielder were at the same level of development. So my question is if we decide they are both untouchable, what is the plan for the rest of this year and next year? Are we certain that Hardy will net us a good pitcher to make us that much better? Are we deciding that we will just be pretty good over the next two years and that we will make the true push with the second wave (post 2010)? Do we believe that replacing Hardy for pitching and adding Escobar and Gamel is better than adding Halladay for next year and losing one of them plus Parra? My feeling is that losing Parra and Gamel for Halladay is not that bad for this year or for the future. With D. Bush returning a rotation of Halladay, Gallardo, Bush, Suppan Looper is pretty solid and could be available for next year also. Losing Gamel hurts but if Casey McGehee has suddenly discovered the prospect status he once had then the fall off from Gamel too him may not be that much. In addition Heether, if he continues to swing a solid stick, also gives us flexibility at third. I just hope that Gamel and Escobar don't turn out like other failed "can't miss prospects" and become good but not great major league players.

Have to say I was not on board with the Halladay trade but the more I look at our future salary and arbitration situation the more it looks like this and next year is the window. If you assume that we will trade away some of our players for minor leaguers or other arbitration eligible players before they enter their final year, that means that after this year Hardy will be moved and, baring signing long term, means that Fielder, Hart and Weeks will be moved after the 2010 season. Therefore, 2010 is reall the year to go all out with the understanding that even if we gut our system now, following the 2010 year we should be able to restock it with a number of high quality young and arbitration eligible players. Therefore, I propose we trade Parra, Gamel, Lawrie for Halladay. Halladay replaces Parra for next year, hopefully McGehee (he is the wild card as he gives us some stability at third base) replaces Gamel until Green is ready. Then after this season, we trade Hardy for young pitching to replace Parra and Escobar replaces Hardy and McGehee becomes the full-time third basemen. The starting rotation for 2010 then becomes Halladay, Gallardo, Bush, Suppan, Looper or pitcher pitcked up in Hardy trade. This gives us a better starting rotation and more depth. Our position players remain virtually unchanged but we need to find a center fielder and Rivera takes over for Kendall with Salome as backup. Then after the 2010 season we tear it down and rebuild by moving Weeks, Fielder and Hart. We get comp picks for Bush and Halladay. And we gain a ton of financial flexibility with Hall, Suppan, Fielder, Hart, Weeks and Halladay all come off the books which could be reinvested in a player we find most worth investing in long term, possibiliy Fielder. So I think this gives us a better shot short term but also gives us enough flexibility to rebuild after taking a shot in 2010. Ultimately, this strategy relies upon McGeehee serving as a bridge to Green and Escobar holding his own. If those two can do that then losing Gamel and Parra gives us a legitimate shot both in the short and long-term.

Trading for Holliday would only make sense if we were going to also flip Hart for some sort of pitching (Cain, Buchholtz or Peavy) and would really be a moment of putting all our chips in and going for broke. These two trades would cost us money and would likely devastate the farm system but would be going all in in order to try to go for it during the current window of opportunity. Just off the top of my head, you could do Braddock, Gindl for Holliday and then do a package of Hart, Jefress and Low A prospect for Peavy/Cain. This might be giving up too much and San Diego may not want Hart's contract but it would amount to a slight upgrade in right and an upgrade in the rotation. However, the downside is that these two trade would gut our farm system and would leave a gaping hole in right field for next year. However, this trade could work long-term if next year Hardy moved to third, Escobar to short and Gamel moved to the outfield. Like I said, it would be a lot to pay and I don't know if I would have the guts to pull it off but if we are going all in for a championship and are willing to sacrifice long term potential prospects then it may be worth taking the risk.

I agree that Kettle of Fish is the go to place for Wisconsin bars here. ESPN Zone in Time Square is a bit busy but can be a good time also.

Africa is a great trip but can be a bit tricky. North Africa, Egypt and Morocco are nice but they are more Middle Eastern in feel rather than African. The other countries in north Africa can be difficult as some don't give passports to Americans. I think South Africa has a lot to offer as far as beauty, relative security and nature. Capetown is one of the most beautiful places in the world and you can take a cheap airline to fly across the country to Kruger National Park or Johannesburg. Also, within a relatively short flight Madagascar (currently political turmoil aside) is suppose to also be pretty nice along with Tanzania and Kenya (which is really a major hub in Africa). These countries should give you a pretty good taste for africa. If you speak French then west africa is not a bad choice but there are many more pockets of political insecurity. Also, remember if you go to South Africa in the middle of U.S. summer it will be middle of winter there. enjoy

I will also be at the New York Series. Having lived in NYC for 4 years,I have to agree that taking the train is the best option for going to Shea. Shea itself is not the geatet of stadium and if you have seats on the lower leve down the first or thir base lines you generally are looking straight ahead and have to look around the person next to you in order to see home plate.

Don't know if this has been posted but it looks like Cirillo thinks their playing with water balls. Link

No you guys aren't bad you guys are just young and maybe with a trade at the deadline that doesn't mortgage your futures, you will be chasing the pennant....wait wrong thread

So I have been lingering on this site for years. Usually checking the site up to ten times a day but I have to say the softball thread is really the one that finally motivated me to post. This thread is great and as someone that has played on a bad softball team i find the recaps absolutly hilarious. The best part about them is that they are so serious. It reminds of some great summers. Keep up the good work and keep batteling.